An Indian Uber driver from Gold coast accused of raping a 20 year-old female passenger in September has been granted bail. According to The Courier mail, the driver, a 24 year-old Indian man from Coombabah, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was in Australia on a student visa to study hospitality when he allegedly raped the woman.
The man told the Brisbane Supreme Court that the victim had ‘rested her head on his shoulder’ after he drive her to her destination. He had picked up the female passenger from a popular Surfers paradise nightclub on September 23 and driven her home.
Police allege when the car pulled up outside her accommodation the driver kissed her, then bit her on her lip. He then allegedly raped her, with the alleged victim telling police she “just froze and felt like she couldn’t stop him”.
She told the police that she was afraid that the driver won’t let her out of his Honda sedan and decided to give him her number to calm him down. She said that the driver called the number straight away to check if it was correct number.
The driver then allegedly saved his number in her mobile phone contacts under his name, then the word “love”.
After the driver drove away, the alleged victim was found by a security guard, sitting in the dirt and crying, who called the police.
The driver allegedly sent the student two text messages to her later the same day: “How was u night hope everything is good” and “Im very glad to see u again if its possible, I think u forget me! Text me if u remember me, thanks x”
Police checks with Uber had confirmed the details of the journey as described by the student, police told the court.
CCTV footage obtained by the police shows the car pulling over next to the victim’s home and staying there for 27 minutes. The driver however has told the police that there was no other contact than her resting her head on his shoulder.
Barrister Scott Lynch, for the Uber driver, told the court the complainant was intoxicated and “ostensibly cannot remember the journey home”.
The driver told the court he would not return to working for the ride-sharing service while on bail.
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